Vidruand
Vidruand is a former nobleman who chose to side with the Scourge as a route to power. Now a Death Knight, he willingly serves the Lich King. Appearance Tall and heavily built, Vidurand cuts an imposing figure. He has small, black eyes and long, dark brown hair. His face is harsh and angular, giving him a somewhat imposing visage. This image is aided by his notably pale skin, making him seem somewhat grim and certainly at home amongst the armies of the living dead. As a Death Knight, Vidurand wears a suit of heavy plate armour and carries a Runeblade. He also, however, wears the Roadwarden's Helm, a family heirloom that he rightfully inherited. This has the net effect of somewhat offsetting the rest of his image; the Helm has a rather ostentatious, over-the top design, and is furthermore rather brightly colored. It clashes dramatically with the rest of his armour, somewhat ruining his aura of menace. Personality Vidurand is cruel and ruthless, a man utterly without morals or scruples, nor mercy or compassion. He is motivated solely by his greed and ambition, and his hunger for power. He cares little for others, instead doing whatever it takes for him to get ahead. He pays lip service to his fellow Death Knights, while planning ways to eliminate them to advance himself. Unfortunately, Vidruand's ambition far outstrips his talent. While he sees himself as a master of combat, in truth, he is only a mediocre Death Knight at best. In battle, he tends hid behind his undead minions, hoping that they cut down his foes before they can reach him. Similarly, he is not a brilliant plotter, having massively underestimated the intelligence and capabilities of his rivals. Whole obstinately one of the "champions" of the Knights of the Blackened Claw, Vidurand feels that he gets very little respect from his fellows; instead, he has found more and more often that Baxter - someone who he views as being little more then a child - is treated better then he is, simply for his love of casual violence. This has only served to fuel his ambitions. History Heir to Winterwind Crag The fourth child of the Roadwarden of Winterwind Crag, Vidruand knew from an early age that he stood very little chance of inheriting the title. Not only were his three siblings ahead of him in the line of succession, their clashing egos meant they constantly competed with each other for their father’s favour, each making sure that they had a better chance of claiming the title. His only useful skill was that he was a capable warrior; unfortunately, his achievements were overshadowed by those of his siblings. With the sudden death of his father, Vidurand saw a chance to claim the title for his own. As the rest of his family fought amongst themselves, he decided that his best opportunity would be to eliminate them. Searching for supporters, he instead found the Cult of the Damned, who were eager to help him - albeit to use the keep's resources for their own. He agreed, seeing a chance to not only gain the title he so desired, but to further advance himself in the ranks of this group. Vidruand led an undead attack on Winterwind Crag during the third war, catching its inhabitants by surprise and slaughtering them. He took with him the three heirloom weapons of the Roadwarden - the Helmet, the Spear and the Shield - as trophies. Today he wears the helm, and while he doesn't use the other two, he still maintains them. As a "reward" for his service, Vidruand was made a Death Knight and given command of the keep itself. Later, he was transferred to Acherus to serve alongside his fellow death knights. It was there that he met Karl Baarfden, a former knight of the Silver Hand, and now an instuctor for novice Death Knights such as him. Impressed by Vidruand's skill- as well as his willigness not only to betray his nation but to slaughter his own family to further his own aims - Sir Karl inducted Vidruand into his order of Death Knights, the Knights of the Blackened Claw. Unlimited Adventure While grateful for the rank and position, Vidurand secretly sought more for himself. Not content with being one of the Death Knights of the Scourge, he sought to become one of their leaders, and lord over the legions of the undead. As he faithfully served the Lich King, he sought chances to further himself. Vidurand's plans suffered a severe setback as a result of the battle of Light's Hope Chapel. While he escaped from the battle, returning to Northrend and reaffirming his loyalty to the Scourge, the change in attitude amongst the Blackened Claw's Leadership somewhat hampered his plans. With Karl now far more aggressive and liable to lash out, he had bide his time, knowing full well that one mistake would mean his certain death - or worse. With the Horde and Alliance coming to Northrend, he sought new opportunities to further himself. Skirting the edges of the growing conflicts, he sought out the bodies of powerful fallen adventurers who would serve him as undead minions. Gathering these resources, he travelled to Crystalsong Forest to enact his plan. He sought to harvest the bodies of the fallen blue dragons and create his own army of Frostwyrms to personally serve him. Unfortunately, in an ironic twist, his plan was discovered by a pair of former subordinates, Sellek Lerenze and Jill Valdaar. The two Death Knights fell upon his camp, destroying everything he had worked for so far while slaughtering his minions. Realising that he was outmatched, he fled back to Icecrown. Fortunately for him, Sir Karl chose to ignore why he had been in Crystalsong, instead focusing on the fact that he had fought two former members of his “order”. As a way of saving face, Vidurand vowed to personally hunt the pair down and destroy them for their treachery – never mind that he had tried to convince them to join him earlier. category:Characters category:Human category:Death Knight category:Scourge Category:Knights of the Blackened Claw category:Articles by Darthfish